Monthly Archives: November 2015

ENUGU, Nigeria Nearly half a century right after a civil war in which a million individuals died, 27-year-old Okoli Ikedi is element of a new protest movement in southeastern Nigeria calling for an independent state of Biafra.

Such calls have turn out to be typical considering that the leader of the group Ikedi represents in Enugu, the region’s major city, was arrested in October, prompting thousands in the oil-making southeast to join demonstrations in recent weeks calling for his release.

It really is an additional challenge for President Muhammadu Buhari, who is grappling with a sharp slowdown in Africa’s largest economy, the bloody Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast and fears that militancy could resume in the oil-rich southern Delta area when an amnesty ends in December.

Like numerous in the surge of southeastern secessionist sentiment, Ikedi was born long right after the war ended.

Displaying absolutely nothing that would betray his pro-Biafran leanings such as a flag or campaign T-shirt, to steer clear of unwanted police consideration, the diminutive baker stated poverty and high unemployment in the region have been symptoms of government neglect.

“They want to make us economically poor. They think the only way to handle us is to increase our suffering,” mentioned Ikedi in a trembling voice, adding that his group, the Indigenous Individuals of Biafra (IPOB), wants a referendum.

The group points to fundamental difficulties to help its demands for an independent Biafra, on which presidential spokesman Garba Shehu declined to comment, adding that he was not conscious that the government was undertaking something on the problem.

POTHOLED HIGHWAYS

The highways that connect southeastern cities are a source of frustration for enterprise men and women in the area who say the partially tarmaced roads, punctuated by potholes, must be arteries of commerce but are dangerous to navigate.

And the refuse strewn by roadsides, combined with the acrid stench of open sewers, hints at the dilapidation that has fomented discontent in the 45 years since the civil war ended.

The 1967-70 conflict followed a secessionist attempt by the eastern Igbo people. Most of the million who lost their lives died from starvation and illness rather than violence.

Now, like then, Igbos say they have been marginalized – excluded from essential government posts and denied important funding for infrastructure improvement, schools and hospitals.

IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu – an activist who divides his time among the UK and Nigeria, spreading his ethos on social media and Radio Biafra – was arrested last month on charges of criminal conspiracy and belonging to an illegal society.

Political analyst Okereke Chukwunolye said the selection to arrest Kanu, previously a little known figure whose social media following outweighed actual help on the ground, was a error because it “enhanced his recognition and made him much more visible”.

The sight of the red, black, green and yellow Biafran flag at largely peaceful protests in the southeastern cities of Port Harcourt and Aba, and the capital, Abuja, has prompted secessionist debates in newspapers, on radio and social media.

“The troubles that brought about the Biafran-Nigerian civil war have remained unresolved,” stated Chukwunolye.

In the 1960s, Enugu – which was the capital of Biafra – became recognized for its coal production which designed jobs, as did steel, cement and gas industries.

“NO VICTOR, NO VANQUISHED”

When the civil war ended, Yakubu Gowon, the basic who led the government side to victory more than Biafra, declared that there should be “no victor, no vanquished”, in a pledge of reconciliation. But the Igbos feel left behind.

Nearby individuals say the demise of Enugu’s industries, a decline that coincided with the oil boom in Africa’s best crude producer, led to widespread unemployment and was a consequence of the federal government failing to fund projects in the region.

At a industry in Asata, an impoverished city center district of Enugu, it is difficult to discover anybody who supports the government.

“Why cannot you leave a slave to go?” asked vegetable stall holder Victoria Emelue in response to the query of secession, raising her voice above the cacophony of traders, shoppers and blaring music.

She mentioned her three kids – all graduates in their twenties – had been unable to uncover perform, prompting her to be fearful about the future.

“Of course I’m in support of Biafra,” said 28-year-old wholesale food trader Uchenna Ede. “If we are freed, the eastern portion of Nigeria would have a enormous turnaround.”

A widespread complaint is that Nigeria’s presidents have tended to come from the north or southwest – areas dominated by Hausa and Yoruba individuals – which, some say, has led to Igbos not being appointed to influential government positions.

The constitution says there have to be a minister from every of Nigeria’s 36 states, but the presence of a Muslim northerner as president with a Yoruba vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, has been cited as evidence that the north and southwest stay dominant.

It’s a reminder of the complicated alchemy that brings together 170 million individuals in Africa’s most populous nation, split roughly equally amongst Christians and Muslims across around 250 ethnic groups, who mostly co-exist peacefully.

Tensions are rising. IPOB campaigners say they are committed to peaceful protests, but their demonstrations prompted the military to concern an “unequivocal warning” that efforts to bring about the “dismemberment of the country” would be crushed.

Chukwunolye mentioned it was unlikely that Igbo anger would outcome in bloodshed, in stark contrast to Boko Haram militants who have killed thousands and displaced two.1 million men and women since 2009 in an try to set up an Islamic state in the northeast.

“There is no separatist movement – it is just an agitation by some youth elements,” he mentioned. “Those who had been involved in the thick of the Biafran struggle will never want to see war once again.”

I had a split second to come to terms with winning the Davis Cup just before I was mobbed by my group-mates.

A single of the specific things about this competition is you get to celebrate with your group-mates straight away, whereas after any other win you never get to see them till perhaps an hour soon after the match has finished.

On Sunday it was immediate, and I felt the full force of the team!

It’s not the initial time, it happened to me when at college soon after I scored a purpose and everyone then jumped on best of me, so it brought back a couple of memories.

I in fact get claustrophobic, so it was fine at the beginning when Leon got to me and then a couple of other people but when there were a couple of far more and I couldn’t move, I began to panic and shouted to all of them “get off!”

‘We should make the most of this’

The subsequent couple of days will be significantly far more enjoyable than after my two Grand Slam wins, for confident.

I regret maybe not celebrating as considerably as I ought to have accomplished after some of my other wins, since now I know how significantly work goes into attaining them. You never know when the subsequent one may well come – it may in no way – so we should make the most it.

That’s why we spent an hour and a half on court soon after the match taking selfies and chatting with the supporters. I never really have numerous personal images to be truthful, but hopefully it produced the day that bit more special for those who travelled more than to Belgium.

Brothers Jamie and Andy Murray pose with fan Ben Stanbury

It did take its toll on me a bit though – I could barely stand up at the finish of it! By the time I got back to the locker area, I consider everybody had enjoyed a handful of glasses of champagne but I jumped in an ice bath instantly. I’d began to stiffen up from not obtaining to cool down, stretch or go through my regular routine following matches. Standing about in wet clothes is not very good for you.

I do now make sure that I devote the time soon after wins like this with the men and women that I want to devote time with. Right now I want to commit my time with the rest of the group, and also my family and close friends.

There are plenty of characters right here and it will be excellent over the subsequent day or two to appreciate some celebrations. I would imagine Dan Evans is the most experienced on our group in that respect.

Highlights: Andy Murray wins Davis Cup for GB

‘I try to stay away from eye make contact with with Jamie’

To play and win a Davis Cup final with your brother is great, I’m truly proud of him, and it might never happen once more, so it’s anything else to savour.

What he was undertaking standing in my line of vision during Sunday’s match even though, I have no idea!

I just saw him standing in the entrance at the corner of the court at one particular point and located it far more off-putting because it was my brother, rather than an individual I never know. I normally attempt to keep away from eye make contact with with him altogether during matches.

Some players may possibly locate it beneficial to look over at their family members but when they’re right there, you see when they’re stressed or nervous or pumped, and due to the fact you know them, you know what their expressions mean.

I’d just rather Jamie wasn’t in my eye-line at that moment, so I let him know!

Britain’s victorious Davis Cup group gather for a celebratory selfie

‘Davis Cup can be a springboard’

Winning the Davis Cup is a large victory for every person in the group, but from a individual point of view I don’t see it so a lot like ticking off another massive title from a list.

There are naturally still two Grand Slams I haven’t won, and the Australian Open is a tournament I would really like to win because I’ve been close there so frequently, reaching the final four occasions.

And had I got by way of the fifth set of my semi-final with Novak Djokovic, I would have had an opportunity to win the French Open, so I’m not that far off on the clay.

Hopefully I can use this Davis Cup win as a springboard for next year, to take on the attitude I had in every single point and possibly get my first Aussie Open in January.

The Davis Cup has been remarkable this year, and I would like to thank all these that have followed us. It really is been an incredible journey and we could not have carried out it without you. Now for some rest prior to I start off coaching for the new season in a week or so…

Andy Murray was speaking to BBC Sport’s Piers Newbery. You can follow Murray on Twitter,Facebook and Instagram.

LONDON, Nov 30 Tom Hayes, the very first trader convicted by a jury of manipulating Libor benchmark interest prices, on Tuesday begins a two-day, appeal against his conviction and a 14-year jail sentence, a single of the toughest to date for white collar crime.

The London case is being heard by Lord Chief Justice John Thomas — the head of the judiciary in England and Wales — Brian Leveson, a senior judge who chaired a public inquiry into the ethics of the British media in 2012, and Elizabeth Gloster.

Hayes, a 36-year-old former UBS and Citigroup trader, was in August identified unanimously guilty of eight charges of conspiracy to defraud for rigging Libor, the London interbank provided price, that underpins about $ 450 trillion of monetary contracts and consumer loans worldwide.

Cast as the ringleader in a single of the rate-rigging scams that has cost banks billions in regulatory fines, Hayes was found guilty of conspiring to rig Libor for profit.

But his legal group is arguing that Higher Court Judge Jeremy Cooke produced legal errors in the way he handled the trial and that the sentence is wrong in principle and excessive.

Much of the initial argument is anticipated to focus on what evidence was deemed relevant or admissible during the trial, lawyers say. The arguments about sentence length are probably to rest in component on regardless of whether Cooke was correct to jail Hayes for consecutive, rather than concurrent, fraud offences.

Richard Cornthwaite, Hayes’s lawyer at law firm Cartwright King, stated he anticipated a ruling this week but added that this was “a matter for the court” .

CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES

Hayes, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, denied dishonesty throughout his trial, arguing he had been open about practices that had been endorsed by senior employees and common in the business at the time.

Hayes’s defence was hampered by his earlier admissions of dishonesty in interviews with investigators in 2013. Hayes told the jury he initially cooperated with the Severe Fraud Office only to avoid extradition to the United States, exactly where he faced equivalent charges. But he later decided to fight the charges.

In his sentencing remarks on Aug. three, Cooke mentioned there was no separate standard of dishonesty for any group of society, that Hayes had “appreciated at the time” he had acted dishonestly and that it was irrelevant that others had carried out the identical or that managers condoned, embraced or even encouraged it.

He said there was “no doubt” the sums involved ran into millions of dollars and that the conduct in the case “should be marked out as dishonest and wrong and a message sent to the world of banking accordingly”.

Hayes was sentenced consecutively for the conspiracies he was found guilty of although at UBS and these whilst at Citigroup in between 2006 and 2010. Had the marketplace rigging been noticed as a single offence, Hayes would have faced a maximum 10-year sentence.

The sentence shows how the UK judiciary is toughening its stance on white collar crime, lawyers say.

Need to the Court of Appeal side with Hayes, it could order a retrial. But both Hayes’s group and the Significant Fraud Workplace, which is now pursuing confiscation proceedings against Hayes to claw back house deemed to be proceeds of crime, could however take the case to the Supreme Court if they fail at this stage. (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley Editing by Keith Weir)

ISTANBUL A prominent Kurdish lawyer gunned down in southeastern Turkey appeared to have been shot by a policeman who was firing on suspects fleeing the scene of an attack on fellow officers, a deputy from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition said on Monday.

Diyarbakir city chief prosecutor Ramazan Solmaz stated prosecutors and police forensic teams operating at the site of Elci’s killing were forced to flee on Monday when militants opened fire and threw explosives at an armored police automobile.

Saturday’s killing of Tahir Elci, a lawyer and human rights activist, and Monday’s short incident underlined tensions in the mostly Kurdish region that have grown since a ceasefire with Kurdistan Workers Celebration (PKK) militants collapsed in July.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said Elci might have been caught in the crossfire between police and the militants.

Meral Danis Bestas, a deputy for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), sent an e-mail to the interior minister soon after viewing a video of the incident which took spot in a narrow street throughout a shootout in between police and militants.

In the video, plain-clothing police standing close to Elci are noticed firing automatic pistols at gunmen fleeing the scene of the attack in Diyarbakir, the region’s biggest city.

ATTACK ON POLICE

“The footage shows a figure operating in the direction of Tahir Elci and the police opening fire in the path of that individual,” Bestas wrote. “A plain-clothes policeman dressed in brown is shown opening fire in the path of Tahir Elci and then he appears as if to see whether or not the cameras are filming him.”

“The autopsy report and the camera footage point to Elci dying as a outcome of a police bullet,” Bestas mentioned.

Shortly before Elci’s killing, two police officers had been shot dead after they stopped a “suspicious automobile” in a nearby street in what Solmaz, the chief prosecutor, stated was an attack by PKK militants.

President Tayyip Erdogan, who founded the governing AK Celebration, has vowed to destroy Kurdish militant fighters since a ceasefire collapsed in July, reigniting a conflict in which some 40,000 men and women have died because it began in 1984.

The HDP, which is represented in parliament and has called for an end to the violence, said Elci had complained of death threats.

“Tahir Elci…was the target of some deep structures which are recognized to have carried out unsolved killings and which these days give open help to the AKP government,” it said.

Unsolved political killings have been frequent at the height of the conflict amongst the state and the PKK in the 1990s.

Elci was facing trial for saying the banned PKK was not a terrorist organization, as it is described by Turkey, the European Union and United States. But he had also condemned PKK violence.

The autopsy showed one bullet had penetrated the back of Elci’s neck. The driver of the taxi in which the suspects arrived at the scene was detained and an arrest warrant was issued for one identified suspect, the prosecutor said.

WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the sidelines of the climate summit in Paris on Monday and discussed the Syrian crisis as properly as the situation in Ukraine, a White House official mentioned.

Obama told Putin he believes Syrian President Bashar al- Assad need to leave energy as element of a political transition, the official stated.

He also emphasized a diplomatic answer to the Ukraine crisis, adding that sanctions against Russia can be rolled back when Moscow honors the Minsk accord, according to the White Home official, who spoke on background.

HONG KONG Nov 30 Bank of Jinzhou Co Ltd’s initial public offering is set to raise $ 794 million, IFR reported on Monday, with the deal pricing close to the bottom of expectations as investors shunned the lender even after it halved its exposure to the parent of troubled solar gear maker Hanergy Thin Film Energy Group Ltd.

The bank intends to sell 1.two billion new shares and a group of 11 shareholders another 120 million current shares at HK$ four.66 each, added IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, citing sources familiar with the deal. The price is equivalent to a 1st half 2015 cost-to-book ratio of 1.01 instances, IFR said.

The IPO had been marketed in an indicative range of HK$ four.64 to HK$ five.54.

Bank of Jinzhou’s exposure to Hanergy came through investments in debt instruments and securities classified as receivables that totaled 9.46 billion yuan ($ 1.5 billion) at the finish of June, according to its IPO filing. But in August it slashed it by 50 percent to 4.69 billion yuan by means of a number of diverse transactions. ($ 1 = 6.3981 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Elzio Barreto, editing by Louise Heavens)

PARIS Russian air strikes in Syria must clearly target only Islamic State, France’s foreign ministry said on Monday in response to inquiries more than current raids by Moscow on opposition groups in the north of the nation.

Soon after traveling to the Russian capital on Thursday, French President Francois Hollande stated he had agreed with his counterpart Vladimir Putin that these attacks would only hit Islamic State and similar jihadi groups in Syria.

The West has accused Moscow of mainly targeting Western-backed rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Asked about strikes considering that Friday on ethnic Turkmen regions near the Syrian-Turkish border, foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal mentioned: “There can be no possible ambiguity on the objectives being pursued, which have to only target the destruction of Daesh (Islamic State).”

Given that Hollande’s pay a visit to, tensions between Russia and Turkey over a downed Russian fighter jet have elevated. Russian air strikes in northwest Syria have heavily targeted ethnic Turkmen regions, according to a Reuters information analysis of Russian defense ministry data.

Ankara has traditionally expressed solidarity with the Syrian Turkmen, who are Syrians of Turkish descent.

BRUSSELS EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and the European Union said it would continue its role in Middle East peace diplomacy in spite of Israel saying it was suspending make contact with.

Asked about Israel’s move on Sunday to suspend contact with the EU over the bloc’s reinforcement of labeling guidelines on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a European Commission spokeswoman said Mogherini met Netanyahu in Paris on the sidelines of the global climate conference.

“EU-Israel relations are very good, broad and deep and this will continue,” the spokeswoman told a news briefing in Brussels, playing down the labeling decision as merely the implementation of an current policy currently being enforced by some EU states.

“When it comes to the Middle East peace process, the EU continues and will continue to perform on this in the Quartet with our partners with both parties because of course peace in the Middle East is of interest to the entire international community,” the spokesman added.

The European Union is one of the 4 members of the Quartet of peace brokers, along with the United Nations, United States and Russia.